Changing their minds: the social dynamics of school leaders' learning

This paper questions whether a focus on individual development is appropriate when it comes to attempting to change professional practice. Based on a study of the conceptual development of candidates on the Scottish Qualification for Headship Programme (SQH), the paper examines evidence from detailed case studies of the learning of some of the students. These were constructed using the reflective commentaries written by the candidates at the end of each year and the outcomes of semi‐structured interviews to explore their experiences of the course and what they felt they had learned as a result. The evidence indicated that there was a complex dynamic involved in learning to change practice where the conceptual development of individuals was closely related to their experience of enacting new behaviours in the social setting of the workplace. The sense that candidates made of school leadership and management was shaped and embedded in their social experience. Change and development on their part was closely bound to the capacity and willingness to change on the part of others.     

Reflections on residential school and our future: "daylight in our minds"

This testimonio takes up what it means to be an educator of Aboriginal ancestry working within existing school structures for the betterment of Aboriginal children. While the testimonialista does not presume to speak for her people, she contends that her story of growing up and becoming a teacher is not unlike that of other First Nations people in Canada. She examines her life within the continuing colonizing structures of Canada and shows how the struggles for justice and recognition of Aboriginal wisdom within education are making a difference.     

Meeting kids at the school gate: The literacy and numeracy practices of a remote indigenous community

This paper reports on a qualitative study which generated detailed case study information about the transition experiences of seven Indigenous students as they moved from Year 7 in their community school to Year 8 in their new urban high school context (Rennie, Wallace, Falk & Wignell 2004). In particular the study aimed to document the literacy and numeracy practices valued in the home community, community school and urban high school and highlight any continuities and discontinuities between the various contexts. Data were collected using observations, document analyses and interviews. Students in the study participated in a number of different activities ‘outside of school’ in their home communities including hunting, art, ceremony, cooking, sport and play. There was evidence of literate and numerate practices embedded throughout these activities. The data also showed there were distinct differences in the kinds of knowledge valued in each context investigated. Cultural knowledge was valued in the home community whereas curriculum knowledge was valued in the school community. The students also built other bodies of knowledge through their participation in community activities. These were reflected in the school curriculum and included scientific knowledge, art knowledge, sport and recreational knowledge and work and domestic knowledge. This paper discusses the community literate and numerate practices, and highlights the continuities and discontinuities with the literate and numerate practices that are valued and privileged in the school curriculum.     

Life inside a professional development school: What experienced teachers learn

Abstract

Most professional development schools emphasize the benefits to preservice teacher preparation but rarely focus on the professional development opportunities for the practicing, experienced teachers at the site (Clark, 1999). Professional development schools are not only changing the way preservice teachers are prepared, but are drastically changing the roles of the experienced teachers who participate in the process. By telling their stories of involvement in a growing and changing professional development school, experienced teachers can reflect on their experiences and learn new and different lessons from them each time.

Recorded stories of participants in professional development schools can be used to help teachers gain renewed insights into their potential as leaders in school reform. Storytelling, as a strategy for connecting theory to practice in real school settings, allows and encourages teachers to be active participants in creating progress. It acts as a catalyst for generating and clarifying personal and common visions.     

Not just for poor kids: The impact of universal free school breakfast on meal participation and student outcomes

This paper examines the impact of the implementation of a universal free school breakfast policy on meals program participation, attendance, and academic achievement. In 2003, New York City made school breakfast free for all students regardless of income, while increasing the price of lunch for those ineligible for meal subsidies. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we derive plausibly causal estimates of the policy's impact by exploiting within and between group variation in school meal pricing before and after the policy change. Our estimates suggest that the policy resulted in small increases in breakfast participation both for students who experienced a decrease in the price of breakfast and for free-lunch eligible students who experienced no price change. The latter suggests that universal provision may alter behavior through mechanisms other than price, highlighting the potential merits of universal provision over targeted services. We find limited evidence of policy impacts on academic outcomes.     

太阳内部聚变放出的核能为何众说纷纭

浩瀚的宇宙中有数不清的恒星,它们内部的温度极高,一般都在1.0×107K以上.可见,恒星内部具备了发生热核反应的条件. 目前认为,在太阳内部的热核反应主要有两个: (1)碳循环,又称贝蒂循环,是贝蒂在1938年提出的,可用下列方程式表示:     

Comparison of individual factors in school psychology graduate students: Why do students pursue a degree in school psychology?

The purpose of this study was to investigate what factors influenced students to enter the field of school psychology. Although numerous studies have documented the thoughts and perspectives of practitioners regarding why they have chosen to become school psychologists, attempts to recruit and retain an adequate number of school psychology practitioners and researchers have shown limited success. A national sample of 307 school psychology graduate students responded to a survey designed to measure issues related to the current state of professional practice, the influence of parental education, and professional organization recruitment. Results indicated that working with children and personal experiences within the school system were highly related to participant's decisions to become school psychologists. In addition, doctoral level and nondoctoral level students present similar reasons for entering the field. This research is discussed in terms of its implications for future research and the current shortage of school psychology practitioners and faculty. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 865–872, 2007.     

Architecture for kids: Deinstitutionalizing the design of child-care centers

For many of the hundreds of thousands of American children who spend their days in child-care centers, the experience must be much like that of a prisoner on furlough. They're home nights and weekends, but stay the rest of the time in institutional environments designed to confine them safely and keep them under constant surveillance. The typical center is a large partitionable space built around a core of kitchen and bathroom facilities with proportions scaled to adults, small outside play areas, and interiors laid out to promote orderliness instead of creative exuberance. Essentially the design is custodial. Little consideration is given to the psychological and educational needs of the children.Donald MacDonald had designed the prototype for a child-care facility which opened at Stanford University in the fall of 1988. He is a registered architect with MacDonald Architects in San Francisco, CA.     

Why some school subjects have a higher status than others: The epistemology of the traditional curriculum hierarchy

Inherent in most school curricula is some sort of curriculum hierarchy—that is, an assumption that some school subjects are more valuable than others. This paper examines the epistemological assumptions that underpin one such curriculum hierarchy, which I refer to as ‘the traditional curriculum hierarchy’. It is a pervasive and problematic idea which maintains that supposedly abstract school subjects, like mathematics and physics, are more valuable than subjects associated with concrete experience, practicality and the body, such as physical education and vocational subjects. Drawing on Dewey, an alternative, non-hierarchical theory of curriculum will be proposed. Contrary to common misinterpretations of his ideas, it is argued that Dewey did not prioritise student interests over disciplinary content. Dewey proposed a curriculum grounded in authentic social problems that required students to draw simultaneously on knowledge and methods from multiple disciplines in an interconnected manner in order to work through such problems. Current policies and initiatives, especially the Australian national curriculum and the English Baccalaureate, are discussed.     

Why boys achieve less at school than girls: the difference between boys' and girls' academic culture

Recently, research into gender differences in achievement has mainly concentrated on the underperformance of boys in comparison with girls. Qualitative research in particular points to the importance of the gender-specific cultures adolescents experience. The purpose of this article is to test quantitatively the explanatory value of academic culture with respect to the stated gender differences in achievement. Use is made of data of 3760 pupils in the third and the fourth year of secondary education in a sample of 34 schools in Flanders (Belgium). A distinction is made between general schools preparing students for higher education and schools offering technical and vocational education. It is demonstrated that boys' culture is less study oriented than girls' culture and that this difference can be held responsible for the gender differences in achievement, at least in general schools. In technical/vocational schools, boys seem to oppose the study culture.     

Adolescent interest in human sexuality: the questions kids ask

This study demonstrates a method for obtaining data on developmental changes in adolescents' interest in human sexuality. A content analysis was done on a sample of 874 student-generated questions. Question boxes were placed in classrooms so students could anonymously submit questions. In deference to perceived community pressure, questions on abortion, homosexuality, and masturbation were not allowed. Students who wrote the questions are 7th, 8th, and 10th graders enrolled in 13 different public schools. The schools are located in several small communities and on an American Indian reservation in a rural area of northern California. All children who participated did so voluntarily and with parental permission. Of the total 874 questions. 7th and 8th graders provided 593, while sophomores accounted for 233. Gender information was available only for 7th and 8th graders. Boys asked 173 questions while girls asked 241. The data are broken down by gender and by grade (7th and 8th vs. 10th). Findings reveal that younger students show more interest in the meaning of slang terms, their reproductive physiology, and intercourse. Older students show greater interest in contraception and health risks. Males are interested in slang and intercourse while females are more concerned with health risks and communication. One unexpected finding indicates that among younger children, boys and girls are equally interested in birth control and pregnancy; in the lower grades then, may be the prime time to use sex education programs to strengthen the sense of dual responsibility for knowledge about contraception and pregnancy. Also, the relative absence of questions on disallowed issues (2.5%) makes it apparent that sex educators can effectively suppress inquiry into topics that are of great interest to youngsters; only about 1/3 of the students indicated that their parents had discussed these disllowed issues, yet 48% of the students expressed interest in knowing more about abortion.     

"依法治校"与高校内部管理体制的创新

在我国高校以教师聘任制为核心的人事分配制度改革和以学院(系)为中心的两级管理体制改革中,反映出高校改革立法不完善,高校改革管理制度不健全,未充分落实法律规定,或高校改革创新措施与法律相冲突等问题,有必要采取相应措施。     

Itinerant teaching: the inside story

The number of students who are deaf or hard of hearing attending local neighborhood schools has increased steadily over the past 20 years (Holden-Pitt & Diaz, 1998). This increase has led to larger numbers of teachers serving these students as itinerant teachers. However, little research has been conducted to examine the efficacy of this model of service delivery (Brelje, 1992; Luckner & Miller, 1994). Qualitative research methods were used to investigate itinerant teachers' perceptions of their responsibilities, job satisfaction, and effectiveness. Individual interviews were conducted with 10 itinerant teachers. Participants reported they preferred working directly with students rather than consulting with general education teachers and families. They noted the primary advantages of working as an itinerant teacher were variety, autonomy, time for reflection, and the diversity of students with whom they worked. Some of the most significant disadvantages they cited were isolation, time and budget constraints, and the distances required to travel from school to school. Essential skills and challenges to being an effective itinerant teacher are identified, recommendations for future itinerant teachers are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.     

《高等工程教育研究》为何落脚在我们学校

恰似弹指一挥间 ,《高等工程教育研究》已创刊 2 0周年 ,确实由衷地高兴 ,应予以热烈祝贺 !1 982年上半年 ,已经记不起何月何日 ,教育部高教二司王冀生同志奉命而来 ,与我商谈创办《高等工程教育研究》,编辑部希望设在我们学校 ,编辑人员由我们负责安排 ,教育部每年提供 5万元经费。我当即表示同意 ,并告他由当时正在负责《高等教育研究》编辑出版工作的李汉育同志主持《高等工程教育研究》的一切事宜。当时教育部部属高等工科学校共有 1 4所 ,为何找我商谈此事呢 ?这就需要联系到当时我们学校一个重要的历史背景 ,也是历史性的转折。我在拙…